NEW YORK: In his big announcement on Monday, Donald Trump announced that Japan's SoftBank would invest $100 billion in various projects across the United States during his upcoming second presidential term. The president-elect claimed this investment would lead to the creation of 100,000 jobs, primarily in the rapidly advancing artificial intelligence (AI) sector.
Trump, known for his bold economic promises, said the deal marked the first significant success of his second presidency, even before taking office. He was joined by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the two discussed the ambitious plan.
The announcement comes with mixed memories from Trump's first term, which saw the Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn pledge a $10 billion investment in Wisconsin, aiming to create 13,000 jobs. However, that project ultimately scaled back significantly, resulting in only around 1,000 jobs being created.
This time, Trump is confident about the outcome. He said the investment would help build the future of industries like AI and emerging technologies right in the U.S. “This is a monumental demonstration of confidence in the future of America. Several people are coming in with huge amounts of funds because they are optimistic about our country since the election, Trump said.
Masayoshi Son, who previously committed $50 billion to the U.S. during Trump’s 2016 election victory, doubled down this time, citing Trump's leadership. “I would really like to celebrate the great victory of President Trump. My confidence level in the united states. economy has increased tremendously with his victory,” Son said. “This is double the amount from last time because President Trump is a double-down president.”
Trump jokingly suggested that Son should increase the investment to $200 billion, to which Son laughed and promised to “make this happen.”
While SoftBank’s 2016 commitment came with a promise of 50,000 jobs, it remains unclear how many of those were actually created. The details of how SoftBank plans to fund this new investment are also uncertain, with the company’s last earnings report showing $29 billion in cash reserves.
In his remarks, Masayoshi Son expressed hope that Trump’s second term would help bring global peace, adding, “I think he will actually make it happen.” Trump, when asked by reporters, reiterated his claim that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine would have been possible under his leadership, insisting the war would never have occurred if he had stayed in office.